1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to the techniques used in the construction of residential housing.
More specifically, the subject of the present invention is a new type of building for which the majority of components, about 80% including the interior works, are prefabricated in a plant.
The subject of the present invention is also not only the means for manufacture of the components but also for erecting the building.
2. Description of Related Art Including Information Disclosed Under 37 CFR 1.97 and 37 CFR 1.98
Traditionally residential housings, such as individual homes or small condominiums, are constructed on site by assembling various construction materials. For the construction of the bearing or non-bearing walls, bricks or building blocks are used. For creating the building openings, prefabricated door and window frames are used. For the roofing, use is made of structural timbers such as prefabricated girders that have been adapted so they can support a roof cover consisting of tiles.
The construction of a residential building therefore requires several skilled workers that need to convene on the site in accordance with a pre-established scheduling which keeps track not only of the order in which these different skilled workers work but also of the duration of their individual activities.
This widely used mode of operation is subject, most of the time, to the uncertainties of weather which interrupt for shorter or longer periods of time particularly the construction of outside walls and the roof. These delays which are beyond anybody's control interfere with the scheduling plan by postponing the periods of activity of the different trades at the risk of one of them not being available at the required time.
The cost of construction is directly linked to the competence of the personnel employed as well as to the quality of the construction materials being used. Ordinarily the cost for labor and the contractor represents between 70 and 80% of the total cost whereas the materials represent only 20 to 30% of the cost of construction.
Another factor that affects the cost of construction is the level of protection against natural disasters which the construction can provide its occupants because of its design.
Those structures which can provide a high level of protection against fire, earthquakes, tornadoes etc. are especially expensive and consequently inaccessible to persons with modest incomes.
The in-plant manufacture of housing modules and their assembly on site is well known. The in-plant manufacture of these modules allows the builder to free himself of weather-related uncertainties and the caisson design of the various modules makes them highly resistant to natural disasters. However, this construction method offers few architectural variations thereby limiting the number of housing models that can be offered.
Also, the dimensions of each caisson are limited by the constraints imposed by the clearance limitations of road transport.
From prior art, one is also familiar with building manufacturing methods which consist of the erection of a bearing frame on a horizontal slab formed on site and of the fastening of prefabricated panels to this framework. The problem with this type of construction lies in the low resistance to earthquakes, unless metal frames are used.
One also knows from prior art, prefabricated buildings that are placed on foundations that are also prefabricated. Such a method can be illustrated in particular with the patent application US 2001/0023563 (PHILLIPS) concerning a permanent foundation for a prefabricated house. This permanent foundation consists of reinforced concrete beams with an upstanding T section put into the ground not in a grid, but parallel to each other at regular intervals. These girders are not joined to each other and cannot confer to the foundation all the rigidity it needs to have.
From the Australian application AU 27958 (SIGAL), one is also familiar with a building that comprises a peripheral foundation and some pads 11 that are implanted in the soil within the space demarcated by the foundation. But these pads are not connected to the peripheral foundation and cannot form together with the latter a rigid grid all in one piece. Such an arrangement is not apt to form an anchorage in the ground that is dimensionally stable and capable of resisting the weight load represented by the building and capable of mechanically resisting any seismic shocks.
From the U.S. Pat. No. 6,085,432 (VAN DER SLUIS) one also knows a positioning device that provides a certain orientation to an upright that is designed to receive a pylon. This device is not suitable for placing the upper face of the upright in the horizontal position.